To Wait Out The Time
by Disastergirl
Summary: Some nights,Riza Hawkeye just couldn't sleep...  Challenge fic with mebh, MegamiZe and ThousandSunnyLyon


_A/N: This fic is part of a challenge done with mebh, MegamiZe, ThousandSunnyLyon and whoever else wants to enter, including now, SammyQuill and possibly DarkSecretKeeper and Maryh10000, all amazing authors, definitely worth checking out. The challenge was to write a fic with blind!Roy, between 500-1000 words. Mine's about 950ish, so it's all good. Also, I don't own FMA, much to my eternal disappointment. _

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The moon always shone brightest in the hours just beyond midnight. Riza had spent many nights lying awake and restless after a return of old, familiar nightmares and, over time, she had developed a routine for such sleepless nights. A trip to the kitchen, her bare feet whispering against the wooden floor and a cold glass of milk, drank slowly as she sat a long, lonely vigil curled up on the sill of her bedroom window. There she would remain, gazing at the gentle luminescence of the stars until she felt the comforting hands of sleep pulling her under again, promising a rest free of the fears and memories that haunted her dreams. It was a comforting ritual that never failed to take effect against her troubled thoughts, but this time Riza did not hurry to leave her bed.

She lay a while instead still curled up in the heavy blankets, silently regarding the man lying beside her. Roy was lost in the depths of sleep, his body and mind exhausted from the trials they had both suffered only a few days ago. The moonlight pooling in from the window shone brightly against his sleep-tangled dark hair and his lips curved upwards in the slightest of smiles, assurance that, tonight at least, his dreams were free of the agony and terror that had so often shadowed his waking life. A thrill of wonder coursed through her anew with each second she gazed at his sleeping form, scarcely daring to believe that after so many years of distance they could finally allow themselves such closeness.

But then her eyes slid across to his hand lying curled against the pillow, the clean whiteness of the bandages hiding the ugly, slowly-healing wound from Bradley's sword and her heart clenched painfully in her chest as she remembered just why he was lying beside her at all. Roy was blind now; a price paid for a sin he did not commit. Riza's stomach churned at the memory of that day, the sharp pain of her own wounds nothing next to the agony of seeing her colonel pinned to that array, his blood soaking into the cold stone floor, a monster's shadowy tendrils curling around his limbs. Then the array had activated and she had watched, helpless, as the alchemical reaction tore his body apart before her eyes. She had thought her heart would stop with terror, had almost prayed that it would, for the anguish of knowing that she had failed him was too great to bear.

But that was over with now. She had to force herself to remember that. Her colonel was blind, but he would regain his sight. In a few days, Marco would return after healing Havoc's spine and Roy would journey to the Gate to pay fair price to the demon that had taken what it had never had any right to. Riza had no doubt that he would return victorious, his vision restored and his eyes looking towards the future, as always. Until that time, he would remain by her side, where she could be sure he was safe.

Slipping out from beneath the shared warmth of the blankets, Riza walked softly towards the window. Even the slightest noise was enough to wake Roy, it seemed. A consequence of his blindness, or had he always been such a light sleeper? Dimly, she wished she knew the answer, regretted that she may never do so.

The night was the clearest it had been in months, the stars blazing brightly against the dark backdrop of the sky. A halo of silver encircled a crescent moon and not the slightest sound broke through the depths of the silence.

Not one sound...except a drowsy murmur and a rustle of cotton sheets as Roy shook himself from sleep, no doubt woken by the loss of her warmth in the bed they now shared. He struggled to sitting, his eyes snapping open instinctively. The moonlight cast an eerie glow over his clouded irises and she tried her best to suppress a shiver at the simple _wrongness_ of that blank stare. Too late she realised her awful mistake as he reached out towards her side of the bed, his hand finding nothing but empty air.

"Lieutenant!" The cry shattered the remains of the night's silence, fear breaking the surface of his voice as his eyes darted uselessly around the room. Riza ran towards him, silently cursing her thoughtlessness.

"I'm here, sir," She reached his side and pulled his arms towards her, her fingers only gently brushing against his injured hands. Her throat stung from raising her voice but the discomfort was entirely her fault. How could she have been so careless to not imagine what would happen if he were to wake? "I'm sorry I left you; I was just at the window, I didn't think..."

"It's okay, Riza," Roy assured her softly. "I should have known you wouldn't have gone far. I apologise for startling you." He pulled her gently into his arms and she relaxed into the embrace, marvelling at the steady beat of his heart beneath her cheek. She glanced up at his face and could see his smile illuminated in the moonlight. "What were you doing at the window, then?"

"Watching the stars... I often do, when I can't sleep. Sir, I'm really sorry..." A warm finger pressed gently against her lips, stopping the anxious flow of words.

"I suppose the night sky could be very beautiful here, on the edge of the city." Riza nodded against his chest and he hugged her closer. "Well, then," Roy murmured. "Next time, you will have to wake me, so we can watch them together."

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A/N: Well, that was fun. Please don't forget to check out the other stories in this challenge and please review if you liked it! (Or, equally, if you didn't. That's important too.)


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